Our results underscore not tance andor cuts in

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Unformatted text preview: including the tightening of
ing that these families are fragile
eligibility requirements for social assisalready. Our results underscore not
tance and/or cuts in benefits. These
only the fluidity of the circumstances
years saw the highest level of income
of hungry families but their preinequality in Canada in 20 years, with
dictability.
state. They are categorized as another
mouth to feed (one or more siblings
added to the household; change in the
number of parents in the household);
job loss (father lost full-time work;
mother’s
unemployment
status
changed); and health problems (mother’s health status worsened; child’s
health status changed for either better
or worse). Getting out of hunger
depended upon one change only—
mother gets a full-time job, and the
family’s income rises accordingly. We
calculated annual income changes for and the number of children. The
National Child Benefit program has
been critical in reducing poverty
among working poor families in support of their children. Increases to
these funds are applauded. It is critical
that these funds also be transferred
directly to social assistance families
who have lost ground in most
provinces because of clawback, holdback and integrated child benefit
schemes that have then resulted in real
income declines and increased poverty
among recipients.
The fluidity of the number of hungry families is consistent with recent
policy trends in Canadian society that
have created dislocations in work and
have increased restrictions on access to
social assistance and employment
insurance, making it harder for families
to get by during times of difficulty or
when the family is stressed with a new
addition to the household. Our finding
regarding the relationship between
hunger and precipitous income decline
is alarming given the direction of public policy and economic trends over the
last two decades, directions likely to
encourage sharp losses in income. It is
significant that seasonal employment
and the tendency towards a casual
labour force—part-time and temporary olicy recommendations
Our finding regarding the relationship between hunger
to address food insecuriand precipitous income decline is alarming given the
ty and hunger are easy to
direction of public policy and economic trends over the last
name, but they do require
two decades, directions likely to encourage sharp losses in
the political will to address
them.
income. The consequences of such declines can be
1. Real incomes must rise,
buffered by more responsive income assistance and
whether from minimum wage
employment market policies.
or social assistance. Food insecurity results from anything
employment—continue throughout
the poorest 20 percent seeing their
that limits household resources or the
Canada, especially in the Maritimes.
average incomes fall by $500 as a result
pro...
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